The Drama Game

The Drama Game File, developed over a period of ten years by national consultant, teacher trainer, and actor/performer Jonas Basom, is an incredible, comprehensive theatre arts curriculum on CD-ROM that is used by teachers, schools, and universities nationwide, to teach theatre and use creative drama across the curriculum to bring content in other subjects to life. Rives Collins, chair of Northwestern University, calls it “The new Viola Spolin for the 21st Century. Ideal for teachers and recreation leaders. Lucid lesson plans with great detail. All the makings of an instant, indispensable classic!”

The CD-ROM is the primary product, but there are also two supplemental products available to make a complete kit that includes a CD, book, and box of flash cards. There are various combinations available, but we recommend the full kit for each family or teacher, because the three products work together so well to create a complete teaching system.

The CD-ROM is built like a website, with all links located on the disk, facilitating movement throughout the program (no Internet connection necessary). It contains the complete curriculum (equal to a 500-page teacher’s manual) including 101 standards-based lesson plans; cross-indexing by 22 drama skills, 20 theatre arts categories, 10 school subjects, 8 multiple intelligences, the 4 arts, and all grade levels; extensive teaching strategies for classroom management, assessment, literacy development, integration across the curriculum, and connections to state and national arts standards. Hundreds of point-and-click links allow for speed and depth in exploring the program and accessing printable PDF files, including lesson plans, flash cards, posters, handouts, and indexes. Find and print a lesson plan in only 4 clicks, or follow additional links and keep learning more. This is much more dynamic than a typical book because of the multiple, possible pathways and cross-linking, helping you quickly find all the games to fit a certain skill, subject, age, or category.

The Companion Notebook contains the 210 printable pages from the CD-ROM already printed and organized, saving the teacher time and money, while providing access to the lesson plans without needing a computer. Designed for practical use and portability, the coil-bound book includes 10 plastic tabs, page numbers, a pocket for notes and supplements, and a CD sleeve for safe storage and travel. Use the book and CD together to access and implement the full curriculum.

The Character Cards Box Set contains the 644 flash cards from the CD-ROM, produced at 3 x 5-inch size and color-coded by 7 categories: Occupations, Emotions, Personalities, Mannerisms, What (activities), Where (locations), and Theatre Vocabulary with definitions on the back. The cards come in a durable box with plastic tabs and 50 activity ideas for arts and literacy in grades K-12. The flash cards provide instant starting ideas to inspire creative expression for pantomime, improvisation, storytelling, character acting choices, art projects and creative writing. They also serve as nouns, verbs, and adjectives to help expand English vocabulary through the “see it, hear it, do it” approach of drama. These attractive flash cards are bigger and better than the printable PDF version available on the CD-ROM.

The Drama Game File can be used to teach theatre arts and develop performing and presenting skills. The games develop foundational skills such as concentration, cooperation, and creativity. These 21st Century Skills are highly coveted by modern businesses; theatre skills are portable and applicable to a wide range of careers. There are dozens of activities organized by theatre disciplines such as pantomime, improvisation, characterization, and storytelling.

The Drama Game is also a terrific resource for integrating drama into other subject areas as a teaching strategy. More than 500 integration ideas are provided throughout the 101 lesson plans, and you can quickly find games for a specific school subject. You can teach rhyming and phonemic awareness in Language Arts in the game Rhyme Time Walk. Or develop vocabulary and understanding of nouns, verbs, and adjectives in the game Grammar Charades. Dramatize children’s books and explore themes from classic literature. Bring historical events and people to life by dramatizing them in the games. Make science and math concepts fun and more understandable through kinesthetic learning as in the game Tableaux, in which players make frozen pictures with their bodies of the stages of the water cycle or geometric shapes and concepts (circle, triangle, rhombus, or parallel lines). There are games that teach vocabulary, skills, processes, people, events, stories, and concepts across the curriculum (including P.E., foreign languages, art, music, dance, and special events). The program is essentially 101 games used 1001 ways.

Drama has proven to be an ideal strategy for differentiated instruction for those students who don’t always learn best with pencil and paper. Students with language difficulties, learning disabilities, or physical/mental disabilities can shine in drama activities. Gifted, talented and highly-motivated students, who need challenges, can demonstrate their abilities and synthesize learning through drama. From the shy to the confident, from the ELD/LEP to the linguistically gifted, and from the inexperienced to the advanced student, drama games include all levels of abilities in a positive creative experience. In fact, you can look up games by Howard Gardner’s eight multiple intelligences on the CD-ROM and find activities that best suit your child’s preferred learning style.

The Drama Game File is perfect for homeschool families, support groups or charter schools. Many of the games work great even in a small family setting for homeschool work time or evening fun and family bonding. Use the games to teach curriculum in a homeschool group or cooperative and develop a wide range of social skills. Develop a performance by selecting games and rehearsing them for a simple, inexpensive, royalty-free production. A family can make great use of the program for many years because it spans PreK-12 and all school subjects. There are volume discounts and site licenses available for schools. As an added bonus, the author, Jonas Basom, offers training in-person and/or via Skype for individuals or groups of teachers. His professional development services give you the chance to learn directly from the creator of the program and discover how to tweak the program to the needs of your child, group, or school.

His professional development services give you the chance to learn directly from the creator of the program and discover how to tweak the program to the needs of your child, group, or school.

Please visit the website, www.DramaEd.net for a free lesson plan, product tours and pictures, pricing options, and special offers for curriculum products and teacher training services available for homeschool families and schools. The Drama Game File, developed over a period of ten years by national consultant, teacher trainer, and actor/performer Jonas Basom, is an incredible, comprehensive theatre arts curriculum on CD-ROM that is used by teachers, schools, and universities nationwide to teach theatre and use creative drama across the curriculum to bring content in other subjects to life. Rives Collins, chair of Northwestern University, calls it “The new Viola Spolin for the 21st Century. Ideal for teachers and recreation leaders. Lucid lesson plans with great detail. All the makings of an instant, indispensable classic!” The CD-ROM is the primary product, but there are also two supplemental products available to make a complete kit that includes a CD, book, and box of flash cards. There are various combinations available, but we recommend the full kit for each family or teacher because the three products work together so well to create a complete teaching system.

Make science and math concepts fun and more understandable through kinesthetic learning as in the game Tableaux, in which players make frozen pictures with their bodies of the stages of the water cycle or geometric shapes and concepts (circle, triangle, rhombus, or parallel lines). There are games that teach vocabulary, skills, processes, people, events, stories, and concepts across the curriculum (including P.E., foreign languages, art, music, dance, and special events). The program is essentially 101 games used 1001 ways.

Please visit the website, www.DramaEd.net for a free lesson plan, product tours and pictures, pricing options, and special offers for curriculum products and teacher training services available for homeschool families and schools.